Occidental College will be the site of my Sports Mentorship. My passion lies in that field, so this is a wonderful opportunity to learn about college athletics and also meet individuals already thriving there as well. Occidental College is a Division III school, and they are a member of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) in the NCAA. Since its inception in 1887, Occidental College has maintained their tradition of excellence in academics and athletics, while staying true to their overall vision.
About Me
I graduated in 2002 from UC Irvine, and soon entered the working world. I realized that my heart and passion still remained in the field of sports, and decided to make a career change. Attending Tiffin University has been a part of this career change, and the program and knowledge that I have gained has certainly opened doors for me already. I am grateful for the opportunity, and this mentorship will help me further my knowledge and experience about the college athletic process. One possible career destination is working for the athletic department at an NCAA member institution, so this mentorship is tailor made for those wishes.
Work Plan
I will be working in the Athletic Department under the tutelage of Mike Wells (pictured above and below). He is the Associate Director of Athletics, as well as serving as an Assistant Coach on the Men's Basketball Team. Although we both have backgrounds in basketball, I have requested to work with all of the varsity sports in the athletic department.
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In 2014, I had the honor of working a basketball camp with NBA Legend Wali Jones and his son, Askia Jones (both wearing orange shirts). Wali was an NBA champion in 1967, playing alongside Wilt Chamberlain. Askia is the last player in the NCAA to have scored 60 points in regulation (without overtime periods). On March 24, 1994, he scored 62 points against Fresno State in the NIT Quarterfinals, also making 14 three-pointers. It was truly an honor to meet and work with both of them, and I am standing back right.
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Supervisor Profile
Michael Wells enters his fifth year at Occidental College now serving as the Associate Athletic Director, Sports Information Director and Associate Head Men's Basketball Coach.
Wells, 27, took over in 2011 as the person charged with covering, writing and disseminating news and stats for Oxy's 21 intercollegiate athletic teams, as members of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. He was quickly promoted to Assistant Athletic Director in 2012, and to Associate Athletic Director in 2015.
Wells, whose mother Jodie Burton and father David Wells were longtime basketball coaches for Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, graduated in 2011 from Dominican University of California with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications. He had been working as a sports reporter for the Marin Independent Journal in Northern California, where he covered college, prep and youth sports before arriving on campus in Eagle Rock.
He received his Masters in Organizational Leadership from Woodbury University in 2014.
During his time at Oxy, Wells has incorporated multimedia components into Oxy's athletic coverage, including highlight packages of sporting events and one-on-one interviews with athletes and coaches. He is a regular contributor to the Occidental College Alumni Magazine, writing feature stories on current and former Oxy athletes and coaches.
Wells hosts Oxy's annual Roy Dennis Oxy's Awards Banquet and can frequently be found on the microphone doing public address announcing at various Oxy sporting events.
His favorite part of the job though is mentoring students who are interested in all types of sports media.
"The unique thing about working at a school like Oxy is the students are smarter and better at what you do than you are," Wells said. "We work hard to recruit students on campus who have a passion for sports journalism and then we let them jump right into the fire by covering sporting events, writing game recaps and broadcasting sporting events."
Within the SCIAC, he has played a leadership role, serving as the Chair of the SCIAC Sports Information Directors Committee and as a member of the SCIAC Awards Committee.
In 2012, he served as an outside contractor for multimedia at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field National Championships.
His college experience at Dominican was a well-rounded one. As a four-year letter winner on the men's basketball team, Wells was named the Cal Pac Conference Freshman of the Year Award in 2007-08 and the Penguins' captain during his senior season in 2010-11.
Off of the court he wore several journalism and leadership hats, serving as the the managing editor for the school newspaper, hosting a sports talk show on the campus radio station and broadcasting various Dominican sporting events. Wells also served as the chair of both the PacWest Conference and Dominican Student-Athlete Advisory Committees. Wells is an active member of College Sports Information Directors of America and the Society of Professional Journalists.
Michael Wells enters his fifth year at Occidental College now serving as the Associate Athletic Director, Sports Information Director and Associate Head Men's Basketball Coach.
Wells, 27, took over in 2011 as the person charged with covering, writing and disseminating news and stats for Oxy's 21 intercollegiate athletic teams, as members of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. He was quickly promoted to Assistant Athletic Director in 2012, and to Associate Athletic Director in 2015.
Wells, whose mother Jodie Burton and father David Wells were longtime basketball coaches for Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, graduated in 2011 from Dominican University of California with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications. He had been working as a sports reporter for the Marin Independent Journal in Northern California, where he covered college, prep and youth sports before arriving on campus in Eagle Rock.
He received his Masters in Organizational Leadership from Woodbury University in 2014.
During his time at Oxy, Wells has incorporated multimedia components into Oxy's athletic coverage, including highlight packages of sporting events and one-on-one interviews with athletes and coaches. He is a regular contributor to the Occidental College Alumni Magazine, writing feature stories on current and former Oxy athletes and coaches.
Wells hosts Oxy's annual Roy Dennis Oxy's Awards Banquet and can frequently be found on the microphone doing public address announcing at various Oxy sporting events.
His favorite part of the job though is mentoring students who are interested in all types of sports media.
"The unique thing about working at a school like Oxy is the students are smarter and better at what you do than you are," Wells said. "We work hard to recruit students on campus who have a passion for sports journalism and then we let them jump right into the fire by covering sporting events, writing game recaps and broadcasting sporting events."
Within the SCIAC, he has played a leadership role, serving as the Chair of the SCIAC Sports Information Directors Committee and as a member of the SCIAC Awards Committee.
In 2012, he served as an outside contractor for multimedia at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field National Championships.
His college experience at Dominican was a well-rounded one. As a four-year letter winner on the men's basketball team, Wells was named the Cal Pac Conference Freshman of the Year Award in 2007-08 and the Penguins' captain during his senior season in 2010-11.
Off of the court he wore several journalism and leadership hats, serving as the the managing editor for the school newspaper, hosting a sports talk show on the campus radio station and broadcasting various Dominican sporting events. Wells also served as the chair of both the PacWest Conference and Dominican Student-Athlete Advisory Committees. Wells is an active member of College Sports Information Directors of America and the Society of Professional Journalists.